


367. lunar children

by piggy09



Series: The Sestre Daily Drabble Project [97]
Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 16:17:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8216437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piggy09/pseuds/piggy09
Summary: “You turned me,” Helena whispers. “I thought – that. You wouldn’t.”
The werewolf shrugs a shoulder and looks away, self-consciously. “Sucker for a good sob story, aren’t I,” she says. “That’s how I ended up with a pack full of scared kids.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Continuation of [this drabble](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8147291)!

Helena wakes up on the floor with the skin of her throat shrieking with pain. She fumbles clumsy fingers to it and feels a knotted choker of a scar under her fingertips. She can’t remember, for a second, where she is – there is something she needs to fight, probably, unless it’s just Tomas. Was it Tomas? She doesn’t—

“Sorry for the scar,” says a voice – British, growling. “Never turned someone before, thought it’d heal.”

Helena sits up and blinks. The werewolf is sitting on the floor next to her, limbs all sprawled, like she does this all the time. Helena remembers like a punch to the face: the house, the wolf, Helena saying _please_. Teeth at her throat. Blacking out.

“You turned me,” she whispers. “I thought – that. You wouldn’t.”

The werewolf shrugs a shoulder and looks away, self-consciously. “Sucker for a good sob story, aren’t I,” she says. “That’s how I ended up with a pack full of scared kids.”

“I’m not,” Helena says. The wolf shoots her a questioning look, eyes gold.

“Scared,” Helena says. “Or a kid.” She pronounces the word _kid_ as delicately as she can, but she’s pretty sure it still comes out wrong – the wolf is still staring at her, brow furrowed.

“Who are you, then?” says the werewolf softly.

“Helena,” says Helena. She hitches her shoulders up towards her ears and lowers them. She doesn’t know what else to say; she’s not really sure who she is, anymore, besides this.

“Sarah,” says the werewolf. “Didn’t introduce myself before I…” The silence echoes. There’s a rat scurrying through the bricks of the building. Helena can hear it, and smell it, and she can smell Sarah too, and Sarah smells like waking up to a lazy morning wrapped in blankets with tea brewing somewhere. This isn’t a memory Helena has, but she knows for certain it’s how Sarah smells.

“Thank you,” Helena whispers. “It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done. For me.” She looks down at her hands. She can hear the familiar thudding of Sarah’s heartbeat, like waves on the seaside, like being in the womb. Somehow. She wonders how she sounds to Sarah. She wonders if Sarah can hear the urgent pleading of Helena’s heart, banging around against her ribs.

“You’ve got a low bar,” says Sarah awkwardly. “Guess that’s why you’re here, yeah?”

Helena nods. She keeps on staring at her hands. They don’t look any different. Helena wonders when the skin will rip open and when she’ll bloom fur. She wonders if it will feel like forgetting or remembering.

When she looks up Sarah is there, like she’s always been there – standing over her, holding out her hand. It looks human. Her hand. It looks like it could never be anything else.

Helena takes it. Of course she does; what else would she do? Sarah pulls her to standing and Helena stumbles against how easy it would be to lean forward and press her forehead into Sarah’s shoulder and smell Sarah and let Sarah keep her safe for a little while. She should know better! But. She does not know better.

“It’s strong, at first,” Sarah says. She sounds amused, watching Helena struggle. “Pack instinct. It’ll calm down.”

“I don’t want it to,” Helena blurts, and then feels the tip of her ears start burning. But. She’s. Never had this feeling, safety, warmth, belonging. She wants to keep it in her chest and only nibble little pieces of it off so it can last her for the rest of her life. It’s the best thing she’s ever owned.

Sarah just looks at her sadly, unblinking. Her eyes say she knows Helena’s problems, and understands them, and forgives them. But Helena doesn’t know if she’s putting things in Sarah’s eyes that aren’t there.

“Come on,” Sarah says, “I’ll introduce you,” and she heads off into the building. Helena holds the sound of Sarah’s heartbeat between her teeth, and follows.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please kudos + comment if you enjoyed! :)


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